FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Mark your calendars now, and start making plans to join us for the 146th Annual Meeting of Ex Officio Trustees and Special Guests, October 16–18, in Louisville. In addition to our spectacular opening session aboard the Spirit of Peoria, you’ll want to attend the exciting keynote presentation by Dr. Joshua Miele, an Associate Scientist at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, where he conducts research in the areas of tactile maps and auditory displays and continues work on his latest project, a cloud-based software program that lets volunteers narrate videos or movies to create crowd-sourced descriptive video.

As always, you’ll have opportunities for product training and input and will want to visit our fun and enlightening Information Fair, see all the new products in the APH Product Showcase, and hear instructive presentations from expert teachers during our Thursday afternoon Teacher Talks. This is the place to catch up on all the APH news and initiatives in general sessions, network with your peers and colleagues, rekindle old friendships, and make new ones!

More information is available on the APH website, and registration will open around the end of July. Make sure to watch your email for your invitation to attend!

Annual Meeting will take place at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Louisville.
The hotel is offering a special rate of $140 per night for single or double occupancy. Triple occupancy is $150; quadruple occupancy is $160.

Reservations are best made online; however, if additional reservation assistance is needed, please call 1-888-421-1442.

While You Are in Louisville:
Louisville’s Centennial Festival of Riverboats Celebrating the Belle of Louisville’s 100th Birthday

Beginning Tuesday, October 14th and lasting through Sunday, October 19th, an extraordinary event will take place in Louisville. A fleet of renowned riverboats from around the country will travel to Louisville to celebrate the first monumental 100 years of the Belle of Louisville, the Legendary Lady of the river. She is the oldest operating Mississippi-style steamboat in the world and is also recognized as a National Historic Landmark. The celebration will include a variety of river-bound and land-based events to properly recognize this living museum. Our APH Annual Meeting will include one of those events, as we board the Spirit of Peoria on Thursday evening, October 16th, for our opening session. While on board the Peoria, APH President Tuck Tinsley will open the meeting with his welcome and remarks. Other events will highlight the evening, which will be capped off by a welcome reception as the Spirit of Peoria races the Belle of Louisville down the mighty Ohio River.

Other Festival events throughout the week will include additional steamboat races, live concerts, a riverboat parade, the Bourbon Pavilion and a grand fireworks show to end the celebration. You might want to make your travel plans to stay for Saturday night’s big birthday party, with dockside festivities and the grand fireworks finale. Information about activities, bourbon tasting cruises, and more can be found at http://festivalofriverboats.com. It’s a party 100 years in the making, and you don’t want to miss it!

National Prison Braille Forum: Save the Date!

Representatives of the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund attended the 2013 National Prison Braille Forum. To honor the career of the former director of the program, Fran Wonders (2nd from left), a stone was placed on the Wall of Tribute in the Hall of Fame.

Don’t miss the boat! Mark your calendars to set sail for the 14th annual National Prison Braille Forum to be held in Louisville on October 15, in conjunction with our 146th Annual Meeting.

Corrections and vision professionals across the country look forward to this annual opportunity to meet and discuss the challenges of starting and maintaining accessible media production operations in correctional facilities. The focus this year will include:

Supporting those who have earned their braille certifications as inmates as they transition to careers as transcribers upon release.

Developing strategies to provide training on the Unified English Braille Code (UEB) for transcribers in prison braille programs.

Anyone interested in learning about prison braille programs is welcome to join us. More information about registering for the Forum will be launched on the APH website near the end of July. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact Becky Snider, National Prison Braille Network Administrator, at email hidden; JavaScript is required or 502-899-2356.

The Building on Patterns (BOP) writing group was at APH for their annual writing meeting, June 23-27, which also happened to be their 10th anniversary! This is the 11th annual summer gathering of the BOP group. They are working on a revision of the BOP curriculum that will include a Pre-K level. Cathy Senft-Graves is the project leader for BOP and planned a busy week with the group. The group worked extra-long hours and made significant progress on the lessons for the pre-K level of BOP.

Braille Plus 18 receives FCC Chairman’s Award

Technology Project Manager Larry Skutchan and Research Assistant Denise Snow traveled to Arlington, Virginia, to accept the award given to APH for accomplishments in Advanced Communications Services (ACS).

The world’s first AndroidTM device designed specifically for individuals who are blind or visually impaired – APH’s Braille Plus 18 – received global recognition from the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 9 at the M-Enabling Summit, where the third annual Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA) were presented.

Larry Skutchan says, “It really was quite an honor for all of us here at APH.” An honor, indeed! The M-Enabling Global Summit is the only program exclusively dedicated to promoting mobile accessible and assistive applications and services for senior citizens and users of all abilities, a market of more than one billion users worldwide, with considerable untapped potential.

The Chairman’s AAA honors innovators in public and private sectors who develop communications technology for people with disabilities. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “The potential of broadband-enabled technology to improve the lives of Americans living with disabilities is almost limitless – but only if that technology is accessible. I’m glad that these awards can help spark the development of new and creative technologies that furthers the important goal of making communications accessible for all Americans.” The keynote speaker for APH’s 146th Annual Meeting – Josh Meile, Ph.D. – was also among the recipients of the Chairman’s AAA. As an associate scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, Josh developed YouDescribe.com – a website and interface for creating and playing crowd-sourced, synchronized descriptions of YouTube videos.

Congratulations to the entire Braille Plus 18 team for this well deserved recognition!

Fun with Braille is a book of engaging activities that is designed to provide additional practice for adults and children who are already familiar with the braille contractions. A list of contractions and the activities in which they appear is included for reference so that the activities can be chosen to practice a specific problem contraction. The activities can be done in any order. An answer key is provided in the back of the book so that the activities can be completed independently. The print edition includes selected activities in simulated braille so that print users learning braille can practice their skills also.

Speaking of fun with braille, have you heard the Braille Rap Song? The Braille Rap Song was written by Lynn Horton and Tammy Whitten as a fun way to teach braille to their students at the Helen Keller School. The song was played during Lynn’s session at the 2001 CEC Conference, where it met such great interest that APH volunteered to produce a professional recording. It is available on the APH website as a free downloadable .mp3 file.

If you have any suggestions for other products you would like to see highlighted in this monthly feature, please send your comments to Monica Turner at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Around the House:

APH Offers “Field of Blindness” Resources

For the benefit of both APH employees and the general public, the APH Resource Services Department maintains Additional Resources, or links pertaining to 22 topics related to the field of blindness, as well as support on how to locate accessible media. Composed of areas of interest such as Assistive Technology, Copyright, and Free Braille Books for Children, the complete list is available online: http://louis.aph.org/pages/Subject_Guide.aspx.

To get to this section from APH’s homepage, at www.aph.org, click on the link to Louis at the top of the page. Then, click on Help in the middle of the blue menu bar at the top of the Louis database. At the bottom of the list on the Louis Search Help page, you will find the Additional Resources.

One of the areas worth highlighting is our Statistics page, which directs users toward 10 significant websites for finding numerical data, at both the federal and international levels. Some of the recommended sites include Cornell University’s Disability Statistics and the World Health Organization. The most recently added resource is the unpublished Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Disability Table Data. Containing the most up-to-date labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for the visually impaired population, we upload this PDF report at the beginning of each month.

New Perkins President Visits APH

Dave Power and Tuck Tinsley stop for a moment in the Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field while on tour.

New Perkins President and CEO, Dave Power, visited APH in early June. APH President Tuck Tinsley offered a tour of the company, followed by a discussion regarding our joint projects and other mutual interests.

From the Field:

BANA Offers New Publication—The ABCs of UEB

The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) is pleased to share a significant new publication—The ABCs of UEB—authored by Constance Risjord. This publication outlines the major differences between English Braille, American Edition (EBAE) and Unified English Braille (UEB). Although this is not a comprehensive instruction manual, it provides examples and practice exercises that allow people who already know EBAE to quickly build on their knowledge of braille to understand UEB. This is an extremely valuable resource that will help braille readers, transcribers, teachers, and families make the transition to UEB.

BANA sincerely appreciates the work of Constance Risjord who volunteered to design and create this valuable project. We recognize and thank her for the contribution of her time, energy, and expertise.
The ABCs of UEB is available in PDF, BRF, and HTML formats on the BANA website at http://www.brailleauthority.org/ueb.html.

Help for Problematic Sleep Patterns

Does your child who is blind have sleep patterns that are different than the rest of the world? Do they sometimes fall asleep during the daytime when they need to be awake? Do they also have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or keeping a regular sleep routine? If your child is blind, this could be due to a real sleep problem related to the lack of light needed to keep the body’s internal clock in sync with the day and night cycle, called Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder.

If your child or someone you know might be affected, please call (844) 361-2424 or email email hidden; JavaScript is required to learn about clinical research studies with investigational treatments being studied for this type of sleep problem. When calling, you can complete a short sleep survey. For each completed survey, $24 will be donated to an organization that supports individuals with blindness. Your child may be eligible to participate in the clinical trial if she/he is less than 18 years old and is totally blind. Volunteers will be compensated for their participation in the clinical study and will receive study-related medication, and medical evaluations.

2014 National Braille Challenge

On Saturday, June 21, 59 students from the United States and Canada participated in the 2014 National Braille Challenge in Los Angeles, California, at the Braille Institute of America. These students placed as finalists in their regional Braille Challenges in such skill areas as speed and accuracy, proofreading, chart and graph reading, and reading comprehension.

Braille Challenge contestants range from grade 1 to grade 12, and compete in five different categories: Apprentice, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior Varsity, and Varsity.

APH was honored to play a part in this auspicious event. Janie Blome, APH Field Services Director – a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Braille Challenge – helped keep the activities for the day moving smoothly, while Field Services Representative, Kerry Isham, exhibited and demonstrated APH products to parents, professionals, students and family members. Favorite products included the Basic Tactile Anatomy Atlas, the DNA/RNA Kit, DNA Twist, and Games of Squares.

Congratulations to all those who participated!

Treasures From the APH Libraries

The APH Barr Library supports research initiatives at APH, while the Migel Library is one of the largest collections of nonmedical information related to blindness in the world. Although the collections do not circulate, arrangements can be made to use the materials on-site. In addition, an ongoing digitization effort means APH will continue to make materials available through the online catalog at http://migel.aph.org.

From the Barr Library: Leibs, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Sports and Recreation for People with Visual Impairments. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing, 2013.

Although it wasn’t long ago that children with visual impairments were excluded from participating in sports, the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the expansion of the Paralympic Games have paved the way toward developing more accessible programs for all ages. Because sports are integral to an individual’s ability to achieve mental and physical health through self-expression and social interaction, this book describes the adaptive teaching techniques and resources that enable people with visual impairments to learn how to participate in athletic activities.

Ranging from alpine skiing to audio darts to surfing, Leibs overviews 36 of the most popular sports among the blind. Archery is one activity that has made impressive modifications, through the use of an innovative foot locator, a tactile aiming device, and a spotter. The latter two segments of the book open up the conversation about the status of barrier-free recreation and the author provides a directory to locate accessible sports camps and organizations nationwide.

From the Migel Library: Fox, Florence C. Playgrounds of the Nation: A Series of Projects on Outdoor Recreation and the Conservation of Forest Life Developed through a Study of State Parks and Forests for Elementary Schools. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1927.

Playgrounds of the Nation was created by the Bureau of Education to help elementary school teachers develop lesson plans. It presents class projects that can be conducted in the Nation’s national parks regarding nature, history, and geography, while also encouraging a sense of civics and national pride. The book is thoroughly illustrated with photos that are representative of the era, including one that demonstrates the recommended camping dress of the day—“Khaki knickerbockers and high-laced shoes, with loose flannel shirt.” This book has been digitized for the Internet Archive and is available digitally: https://archive.org/details/playgroundsofn1927n20flor

APH is working with the Internet Archive to digitize portions of the M.C. Migel Library. Search the phrase “full text” to find these items at http://migel.aph.org. The digitized texts are available in a variety of formats, including DAISY, Kindle, EPUB, PDF, etc.

Common Core State Standards Math Listing Through Grade 12 Now Available

APH is pleased to announce another update of our Common Core State Standards web pages that list APH products aligned with CCSS mathematics. APH math products are now listed for grades K-12. The site also has links to the Common Core State Standards, the Maryland Common Core State Curriculum Framework for Braille, the five Assessment Consortia, as well as links to webinars on implementing the CCSS and other free resources.

Quota Order Form—Easy Download!

Some of our Federal Quota customers prefer ordering using traditional paper order forms — and we’re happy to accommodate! Did you know you can download & print the most recent version of the Quota Order Form from our website? Of course, you can always place Quota orders electronically using our shopping site, no paper form needed. We hope this helps and happy ordering!

Scholastic News® Subscriptions 2014-2015 Now Available!

For decades, APH has been proud to offer braille and large print editions of Weekly Reader®. Now Weekly Reader® is Scholastic News® and you can order your 2014-15 subscription via shop.aph.org! APH offers accessible editions of Scholastic News® at a cost comparable to regular print subscriptions. And Federal Quota funds may be used!

Note: To facilitate our internal processing, please order magazine subscriptions on separate orders from other APH products and books.

Note: Orders for the 2014-15 school year will be accepted until February 28, 2015.

Social Media Spotlight

Did you know APH could make you an internet sensation? Well…maybe not, but we CAN share your ideas with tens of thousands in the blindness community. Our blog, Fred’s Head from APH, is visited an average of 35,000 times a month by teachers and other blindness professionals, students, and adults who are blind and visually impaired. We publish blog posts on dozens of topics related to blindness– cooking tips, the latest accessible apps for iOS and Android, your favorite ways to use APH products, and much more. It doesn’t have to be lengthy or complex. Please submit your ideas or full articles to our Social Media Coordinator, Marissa Stalvey, at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

APH Sizzlin’ Summer Savings Sale

New Downloadable Manual Available

Get the manual you need instantly! APH offers a selected list of product manuals available for free download (www.aph.org/manuals/). You may print or emboss these as needed. In most cases, we will continue to package hard copies of these manuals with their products and sell hard copy replacements.

NEW! Math Robot App for iPad

Related Product

Announcing the first iOS app from APH! Works with your Apple iPad® or iPad mini® running iOS 7® or later!

While there are hundreds of math drill and practice apps on the App Store(SM), most of them are not accessible to students who are blind. APH’s Math Robot™ was designed for students who are blind and visually impaired, as well as sighted students, making it ideal for use by an entire class.

Fun Math Robot Character

A flashcard format and a smart "know-it-all" math robot character provide fun drills and practices for simple math problems. The app is both self-voicing and accessible with Apple’s VoiceOver for iOS.

Math Robot automatically announces the problem, or if VoiceOver is running, it uses the screen reader to announce and control the app functions. For sighted students, Math Robot intelligently enunciates and repeats the problem.

Use with a Refreshable Braille Display!

When using a refreshable braille display, like APH’s Refreshabraille 18™ Bluetooth device, the built-in VoiceOver screen reader shows the problem in braille and allows the user to enter his or her answers using the display’s braille keyboard. Set VoiceOver to display the problems in literary U.S. English braille, Unified English Braille (UEB), or Nemeth Braille.

Teachers and parents can: set the range of numbers to use for drills; select the operations to use; set the number of tries; and set a time limit allowed to answer each problem. A low vision mode adds extra contrast.

NEW! Visual Brailler App for iPad

Related Product

Announcing another iOS app from APH! Works with your Apple iPad® or iPad mini® running iOS 7® or later! And it’s free-of-charge!

Visual Brailler is the simple braille editor! It’s a braillewriter for your iPad, and it has a place in every braille transcriber’s toolbox. It displays a traditional six-dot keyboard and simulated braille on your iPad screen. You can edit and save your work, which makes Visual Brailler perfect to use for on-the-go practice for NLS certification exercises. Visual Brailler supports any code you wish to use, because it makes no assumptions about what you are writing. Use it to help learn new codes, such as Unified English Braille (UEB), and to record your progress.

For transcribers who are blind, Visual Brailler also works with Bluetooth refreshable braille displays with keyboards, such as APH’s Refreshabraille 18.

NEW! APH SMART Brailler by Perkins

ADDITIONAL SHIPPING CHARGE: All shipments will incur actual UPS shipping rates based on the destination. Free Matter shipping not available for this item.

Note: The APH SMART Brailler by Perkins IS available with Quota funds!

The APH SMART Brailler by Perkins provides immediate feedback to a child or adult who is learning braille. Feedback is available via text-to-speech and a screen that displays SimBraille & large print of what is brailled in uncontracted or contracted braille. This audio and visual feedback also provides access to someone who does not know braille, including parents, peers, and general education teachers.

Exercises to supplement APH’s Building on Patterns (BOP): Kindergarten curriculum

Rechargeable battery

The base unit of the APH SMART Brailler by Perkins is the Perkins/APH Brailler, which was designed to be quieter, lighter, and more comfortable. Accommodates 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper and embosses up to 25 lines of 28 cells.

Exclusive Content!

Only the APH version of the SMART Brailler comes with Building on Patterns: Kindergarten supplementary exercises.

Recommended ages: 3 years and up.

Note: Young children should be supervised during exploration and pre-braille activities.

The SMART Brailler was developed by Perkins Products and Product Development Technologies (PDT) in partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind. Acapela Text to Speech and voices used in the brailler are provided by Acapela Group, and contracted braille translation is provided by Duxbury Systems.

Replacement Items

Become bejeweled with braille! Make fun and educational jewelry with plastic braille beads!

Braille Beads are small, plastic rectangles that have braille on one side and incised print letters on the other side. Each bead has two holes through which wire or cord may be threaded. Also included are fun image bead manipulatives, such as flower, peace sign, heart, and circle.

Making jewelry teaches students to:

Plan (a design or a word)

Organize materials (wire, cord, needles, scissors)

Sort (shape, size, color)

Practice fine motor skills (stringing beads, tying knots)

Most importantly, Braille Beads encourage creativity! Beading is an activity that children enjoy for arts and crafts, and adults enjoy for pleasure and employment. Braille Beads allow children who are visually impaired and blind to create personalized objects of art they can wear. They can take pride in their creations and just by wearing braille jewelry, children become ambassadors for braille!

Bejeweled with Braille: Instructions for Making Braille Jewelry, Large Print, Braille, and on CD-ROM

Optional Braille Beading Tray with Jars

APH offers the Braille Beading Tray with Jars as a separate product. The tray and jars keep the beads organized while beading. The tray holds up to seven jars of Braille Beads. Each recessed circle that holds a jar of Braille Beads has a fluted space directly in front of it to hold the same color Pony beads. The tray has a workspace for placing beads and experimenting with designs before stringing them onto a cord or wire. This workspace has a beading mat to prevent the Pony beads from rolling. A smaller space on the right holds jewelry findings or tools for cutting elastic or bending wires.

Recommended ages: 5 years and up.

WARNING: Choking Hazard–Small Parts. Not intended for children ages 5 and under without adult supervision.

This popular braille course for adults has now improved braille formatting and includes colorful new covers!

The Illinois Braille Series is a classic program for teaching literary braille to former print readers. It includes raised print letters, braille, tracking guides, practice activities, writing drills, and an interesting variety of reading selections. This 3-volume set progresses from uncontracted to contracted braille in 50 lessons.

While the content of the Illinois Braille Series has not changed, the format in Books I and II has been adjusted to accommodate the beginning braille reader.

Book I Covers:

Braille alphabet

Braille numbers

Basic punctuation symbols

Format Improvements: Book I is now produced in standard-sized braille rather than enlarged (jumbo) braille. Guidelines and double spacing have been added to assist the learner.

Books II and III Cover:

Contractions and additional symbols, which comprise standard English Braille American Edition (EBAE)

Format Improvements: Book II provides special formatting to aid development of efficient hand movement.

Boehm-3 Preschool is an easy-to-administer tool that helps identify children who need help with basic relational concepts.

Boehm-3 Preschool measures 26 basic concepts relevant to the preschool and early childhood curriculum. This test helps identify children who lack understanding in basic relational concepts so you can provide intervention sooner, increasing their chance of success in school. Each concept is tested twice, to verify the child’s understanding.

Features

Assess each concept twice to determine the child’s understanding across contexts

Picture Manual and Record Forms in English and Spanish (Big Picture Kit only)

Boehm-3 Preschool Big Picture Kit Includes

Big Picture Manual

Test Administration and Scoring Directions

Record Form

Parent Letter

Tactile Kit Includes

Four binders containing tactile stimuli

Binder 1: Practice Items A-E, Test Items 1-24

Binder 2: Test Items 25-52

Binder 3: Test Items 53-82

Manipulatives

Test Administration and Scoring Directions

Record Form

Parent Letter

Recommended ages: Preschool.

APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow several weeks for delivery.

Rootless
by Chris Howard: T-N1982-90 — $94.00
In a world destroyed by war and flesh-eating locusts, Banyan, a sculptor, takes a job building metal trees for a rich family. His employer’s stepdaughter shows him a picture of a real tree — believed to be extinct — and Banyan’s missing father. Grades 10 and up. *(AR Quiz No. 155011, BL 4.4 Pts 11.0)

Civil War at Sea
by Craig L. Symonds: T-N1983-80 — $120.00
Pulitzer Prize-winning author chronicles the naval campaigns of the American Civil War. Discusses the coastal blockade of the South that ruined the economy and the Union dominance of inland rivers that cut the Confederacy in half. Details the leaders, regional campaigns, innovations, and battle tactics. From the Reflections on the Civil War Era series.

Ashenden
by Elizabeth Wilhide: T-N1985-10 — $146.50
Charlie, a photographer living in America, and his sister Ros, a doctor, have inherited their aunt’s English country home, Ashenden Park. As they debate whether to keep it, their stories are woven into the tapestry of triumphs and tragedies that have occurred there over two centuries. Some adult content.

Huddle with Me Tonight
By Farrah Rochon: T-N1985-20 — $83.50
Entertainment reporter/blogger Paige Turner criticizes football player and restaurateur Torrian Smallwood’s memoir. To resolve their feud, the two hold a televised cook-off — where their mutual attraction overcomes their animosity. But Torrian questions Paige’s trustworthiness when someone leaks his retinitis pigmentosa diagnosis to the media. Some adult content.